The Royals are betting on internal improvement. Matt Quatraro believes he has the staff for it

The Kansas City Royals’ limited ability to add payroll combined with a desire to continue to commit to their top young talent means that a lot of the onus for improving the on-field product falls upon new manager Matt Quatraro and his coaching staff.

The first-year skipper was hired away from the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason with an eye towards helping improve the Royals’ internal processes at the major-league level. Quatraro could see his player-development chops put to the test right away if general manager J.J. Picollo doesn’t make significant additions to the roster.

Quatraro hasn’t seemed fazed by the idea that the club’s improvement will likely have to come from him and his staff getting more production out of the same group of players who took their lumps late last season and went 25-35 from August through the end of the season.

Getting more out of the current players served as a guiding principle as Quatraro and the Royals filled out his coaching staff. The two most important coaching hires so far have been bench coach Paul Hoover, the former Tampa Bay major-league field coordinator, and pitching coach Brian Sweeney, the former Cleveland Guardians bullpen coach.

“He’s a longtime friend of mine,” Quatraro said of Hoover, “a longtime teammate, somebody I’ve seen on both sides of the ball as a coach, as a player. And no one I’ve been around has the dedication and the drive to make players better like he does. I’ve been around a ton of good coaches. That’s not to discount from anyone else.

“But his willingness to dive into every aspect of what can help a player get better is unparalleled. And then from a game management standpoint, he is super aware of situations of rules, of people’s emotions and feelings and how to help connect with those players. And that’s going to be a huge attribute for me to utilize.”

Hoover’s duties will also include being the catching coach.

Perhaps the biggest focus for the Royals will be improving the results for their stable of highly regarded young starting pitchers. So much of the hope for the latest rebuilding effort has been heaped upon those pitchers, including Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar and Jonathan Heasley.

While Singer enjoyed a breakout year in 2022, the rest have had inconsistent performances.

“They’re pretty well rounded in my opinion,” Quatraro said of his coaches. “They’re great people. They care about the players. They want to make them better. They’re good communicators, they’re good listeners.

“I think that’s a big part of this is trying to get to where we’re helping the players get better. We’re not dictating what they’re going to do. We’re partnering with them to make them as good as they can be through every avenue we can, whether it’s mechanics, sports science, nutrition, all those. Every department is going to have a say, but they ultimately have to lead the way. It’s their career.”

Sweeney comes from a Cleveland franchise that has demonstrated an ability to remain among the elite in pitching — over an extended period of time — despite turning over large portions of their pitching staff.

Asked about losing Sweeney, Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona likened Sweeney, his “cribbage partner,” to an offensive lineman on a football team that misses a block. The lineman doesn’t get appreciated for all the dirty work he does, but when he makes a mistake, folks aren’t forgiving.

“He just (has) saved our staff so many times,” Francona said of Sweeney. “… He probably meant more to me maybe than — or was appreciated more by me and the coaches than — maybe some of the fans.”

Sweeney had been scheduled to serve as the pitching coach for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. While no official announcement has been made, he’s expected to step down from that position in order to spend the entire spring training with the Royals.

This week, Picollo pointed to the success the Cleveland and Tampa Bay organizations have had as examples of how it’s possible to compete despite having to look inward for improvement and rely on player development and their ability to maximize the roster.

The Rays have made eight playoff appearances, won four division titles and two AL pennants in the past 15 years while competing annually with powerhouse franchises in the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

“Certainly excited about the guys coming in and very excited for Q and Hoove,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I felt like coming into the offseason, I couldn’t envision a more prepared guy or for a better opportunity for Q to get a job, and he’s doing it with a good organization.

“Happy that he’s able to take Paul with him. So they will definitely be missed.”